Halo: Zuma
by SPARTAN-G117
Summary: 24 April 2526. Corbulo Academy of Military Science, CAMS, training facility of the UNSC's highest ranking's children. Zuma squad is compromised of nine of those cadets. This is their story.
1. Zuma

Corbulo Academy of Military Science, 24 April 2526.

"Helljumper, Helljumper, where you been?" Senior Cadet Robert Jones yelled as we marched in unison behind him returning from a successful training session against Hastati squad.

"Helljumper, Helljumper, where you been?" We repeated.

"When I die please bury me deep!"

"When I die please bury me deep!"

"Place an MA5 down by my feet!"

"Place an MA5 down by my feet!"

"Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!"

"Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!"

"Just pack my box with PT gear!"

"Just pack my box with PT gear!"

"Cuz one early morning 'bout zero-five!"

"Cuz one early morning 'bout zero-five!"

"The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!"

"The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!"

"Don't you worry, don't come undone."

"Don't you worry, don't come undone."

"It's just my ghost on a PT run!"

"It's just my ghost on a PT run!"

We continued marching around the academy and ended up in our training room where our equipment would be stored.

"Hey," my close friend Nathaniel Mendel tapped my shoulder as we stripped out of our body armour, "Lachlan, we smashed those Hastati idiots by a mile. Again."

"Yeah, that Lasky guy can't listen to orders well can he."

"No he can't."

"Officer on deck!" Rebecca Johnson, the only female in the squad, called out and we snapped to attention at the call.

"Zuma squad. What you done in the past term is impressive. All your results so far, both academic and combat, have been outstanding. Some of the best this academy has seen. I'm sure you six will become some of the best officers the UNSC has ever seen. Axios!"

"Axios!"

"As you were."

"Dimitri," I called over my roommate to the console, "come and look at this."

"What is it comrade?" he asked in a heavy Russian accent.

"Just watch," I started the classified recording that I had been piecing together for the past week.

"Holy shit, what is that?" he exclaimed as an insurrectionist was flung into a wall.

"Keep watching," a marine was stuck under a chunk of concrete and the mystery being reached in and pulled him out with no effort, "there, see that hand."

"That things massive."

"That's not the best bit."

"Why are they fighting with the innies?"

"Wait for it."

"My god, what is that?" the video ended with a frame that showed the being towering over the innies and marines.

"Look at the visor."

We were stunned in silence as we saw the silhouette of some thing that was armed with a glowing blue sword.

"What are you two looking at?" Robert and Rebecca walked into our dorm room and noticed the frozen image.

"What is that?" She asked.

"How would I know? I'm not some UNSC big wig."

"Maybe its some kind of new ODST?" Dimitri suggested.

"No, its too tall. Gotta be a robot." Robert added.

"Then why was it fighting along side innies?" I pointed out.

"Lights out cadets!" Some one shouted down the hall.

"Alright we better get back before they catch us," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow comrades."


	2. Hastati Conflicts

"It seems some stuff went down with Hastati this morning. Orenski looks pissed," I said discreetly to the team.

"Yeah, heard they were woken up early under orders from the general," Rebecca agreed.

"So give them over. Both of you," Hastati's leader ordered Lasky and Vickers, another Hastati cadet, to give her their quiches.

"Very pissed."

"With such a renowned pedigree, I sure expected you to be a better soldier, Lasky. Dismissed"

"Must be tough on your mum, knowing her real son's never coming home," Vickers ignited a fistfight with his squad mate.

Instantly we were all on our feet standing around the pair who were bashing each other with mess trays.

"Oh, Lasky and Vickers," some random cadet called.

The fight raged on in the arena the other cadets formed until someone yelled, "Officer on deck!" and we all snapped to attention.

It was Cornel Mehaffery who marched up to Lasky and said one word, "Outside."

The cadet followed her and disappeared.

"Looks like Lasky just dived into the deep end," Robert commented.

"That was a dick move on Lasky's behalf," Dimitri said

"Well you can't blame him," Rebecca said defending Lasky, "Vickers insulted his family directly. His dead brother, everyone knows that Lasky carries around his brother's tags."

"I didn't hear what Vickers said," Dimitri replied

"And, like always, you jumped to conclusions," I joined the conversation.


	3. Capture The Flag

"Zuma squad. Today our objective is to capture the flag," Robert announced as he paced back and fourth in front of his squad, "Today we are once again going against Hastati, and today General Black will be watching. I don't want any foul ups especially since this is our last combat test of the term. Polanski your on point."

The cryo tube opened and we collapsed onto the ground coughing out the foamy liquid that kept us alive. As soon as it was out of us we put on our training armour and loaded our MA5s with TTR.

"Ten seconds," the campus's AI, Orlin, called and started counting down.

"Go, go ,go," Dimitri ordered when it reached zero, "Axios!"

"Axios!"

We ran out into the forest surrounding the campus that was used as a training ground and reached our red flag.

"Ok, Mendel, Richards, Irving, guard the flag. The rest with me."

"Yes sir."

We sprinted through the forest to wards Hastati's flag.

"Eyes up, eyes up. All right, flank 'em," Dimitri said over coms, "That's them, there all here."

We slowly advanced towards the blue blips on our motion trackers surrounding them. We reached the clearing where the blue flag was located only to find eight helmets lying on the ground.

"Wha-" I didn't get to finish as Dimitri, Rebecca and I were hammered with TTR, collapsing on the ground stunned.

I watched as Hastati sprinted towards our flag neutralising Zuma. My radio went crazy with chatter and I listened in to it.

"Where are they!?"

"Ambush!"

My HUD kept relaying the squads casualties.

 _Casualty: Irving_

 _Casualty: Richards_

 _Casualty: Mendel_

Eventually the TTR deactivated and the AI announced, "Zuma neutralised, Hastati wins."

"That was shocking Zuma," Robert was in his armour standing above Dimitri MA5 aimed at his chest, "I'm disappointed," he said as he fired a few rounds onto his breast plate.


	4. Contact

"All cadets, report to the tether," Orlin had sounded an alarm.

"Lachlan, get up!" Dimitri was shaking me, "Come on comrade."

"I'm awake, I'm awake."

"The others have already left for the tether."

"Come on cadets! To the tether! Now!" A Marine burst into the dorm room, "This is not a drill!"

We were in our short sleeved PT gear and that made the jog to the space elevator easier.

"Adams, Polanski. Get your asses here," Robert had rallied the rest of the squad about a hundred meters form the elevator.

A crack of thunder sounded and what appeared to be meteors fell from the sky.

"ODSTs? Why would they drop here?" Rebecca noticed the elite soldiers land on the academy grounds.

"Because someone's attacking us," I put two and two together.

"By innies?"

"I don't think so."

Another crack of thunder sounded and three sleek, purple ships appeared around the tether.

"What the hell are they?" Rebecca asked shocked at the alien craft.

Without warning one of the vessels fired a beam of blue light at the tether causing it to start to collapse.

"Run!" I shouted as I started sprinting for the exit.

I made it to the exit and looked back and saw cadets buried under the rubble.

"Lachlan, Dimitri, Rebecca!" Robert called out in the chaos, "To the dorms!"

I noticed Cornel Mehaffery with an MA5 fighting along side the marines, "To the dorms! Get to the dorms!"

She fell in front of me as she was shot by pink crystals that exploded when her corpse hit the ground.

"Lachlan! Come on comrade!"

I saw what was left of the squad disappear into the dorms and I sprinted after them.

"Did you see anyone else?" I asked as I caught up.

"No, its just us four," Rebecca replied.

"Yeah I saw Jessie, Nathaniel and Courtney get crushed by the elevator," Dimitri pointed out.

"Lets get to my dorm. Hide," Robert said.

"No, no, no, no, well just get killed."

"Well we can't go out there."

"Fine you can do that. I'm gonna try get of this planet."

"You're not going alone comrade," Dimitri had my back.

"I agree," Rebecca joined us.

"If you want to hide in your dorm, Robert, no one is stopping you. But I wont stop you if you come with us."

"No, we hide wait for someone to help."

"Ok then, Dimitri, Rebecca lets go."


	5. Escape

"Bloody hell," Rebecca said as we walked outside to the devastation.

There were cadets, marines and ODSTs strewn about dead. No signs of the aliens.

"See if you can find a weapon," I said quietly.

I found the corpse of an ODST and took his MA5 and a couple of extra magazines and put them in my pocket. I looked behind me and saw Rebecca and Dimitri doing the same.

"We ready?" I asked.

"Yep," they both replied in unison.

"So what's the plan?" Dimitri asked.

"AI's can fly pelicans right. So we get to one of Orlin's terminals put her in a chip, take her to a pelican and fly away. Simple."

"Do you know where on of her terminals are, comrade?"

"I remember one being in the mess hall."

"Lets go then."

We made it to the mess hall with out conflict and just like outside it was littered with dead cadets.

"Rebecca, get the AI, we'll keep an eye out."

"Ok."

She ran over to the terminal, "Orlin, are you there? We need you to pilot a pelican for us."

"Rebecca," the AI replied, "I would be happy to oblige. Pull me and put me in the pelican and you get out of here."

"Ok," She pulled out a data chip that was inserted into the terminal.

"Rebecca, we good to go?" I asked loudly.

"Yeah, lets get out of here."

We went back the way we came ending up back at Robert's dorm which had been busted open.

"Robert?" I asked as I cautiously peered into the room. Robert's body was slumped in the corner of the room missing both arms, "Shit. Robert."

"So its just us now comrades," Dimitri stood beside me.

"We need to get out of here. Those things could still be out there."

"Ok, lets go."

We continued towards the landing pads where we hoped to find a pelican. Passing nothing but death. A loud whine went off and a glowing, green ball hit the concrete in front of me melting it.

"Cover!" I yelled but my squad mates had already disappeared.

We started firing our MA5s at the tall birdlike alien on a roof top nearby. Another appeared and another. They kept coming.

"Lachlan, we can't stay here!" Rebecca called.

"We make a fighting retreat. When I say go you two move back and find some cover then do the same for me."

"Right, comrade."

"Go!" I yelled as I emptied the remainder of my MA5's magazine.

"Covering fire!" they yelled together as they reached cover.

I sprinted past them as they unloaded. We continued this tactic until we reached the pads which were enclosed.

"Dimitri get the fucking door."

"Already on it comrade."

Luckily there was one operational pelican left. Others were had parts reduced to molten slag or crushed when the tether collapsed on top of them.

"Rebecca get Orlin in that pelican. Dimitri and I will cover the door."

As I reached Dimitri two blue blades pierced the blast door and started cutting a hole in the wall.

"Rebecca, we don't have much time!" I yelled as the pelican came online.

"C'mon guy's lets get outa here," she yelled and stood in the crafts cargo bay.

Dimitri and I ran for our ticket out as the sword reached where it had started and a massive alien walked through the hole it made. We jumped inside the pelican and looked back to see the being fire a blue bolt at us hitting Rebecca in her lower back.

"Rebecca!" I screamed as I caught her, "Orlin, get us the fuck outta here."

I looked up and saw Dimitri use a nearby panel and closed the doors. Orlin piloted the pelican out of the hangar and away from the burning campus as the sun rose above it.

I placed my fingers on Rebecca's wrist hoping to find a pulse but there wasn't one.

"Is there a body bag somewhere?"

"No, but I found a blanket," Dimitri placed the cloth over her body, "Never thought we'd leave school this way, comrade."

"Yeah, I wonder if anyone else made it?"

Out of the nine original members of Zuma Squad only Dimitri Polonski an Lachlan Adams remained. Two of nine.


End file.
